Christina Aguilera And Yum! Fight Hunger In New PSA

“Together, we can end world hunger” -- that's the new message from Yum! Brands and pop-singing sensation Christina Aguilera, to help raise money for the World Food Programme during Yum!’s World Hunger Relief campaign.

WASHINGTON DC -- WFP’s longtime partner Yum! Brands kicked off its annual World Hunger Relief campaign this week with a new public service announcement (PSA) featuring WFP Ambassador Christina Aguilera.

The PSA comes on the heels of Aguilera’s summer trip to Rwanda and features video footage from her time in the central African nation witnessing firsthand the effects of hunger. It continues both Aguilera’s and Yum! Brands’ longstanding commitment to fighting hunger worldwide.

During her trip to Rwanda, Aguilera, a multi-Grammy Award winner and multi-platinum recording artist, served food to hungry children through WFP’s school meals program. She also traveled to the Kigeme refugee camp and listened to stories from mothers and children who had escaped conflict in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. She said she was moved by her experience.

“You just want to see a smile,” Aguilera said in the September issue of InStyle Magazine. “You just want to see some kind of hope, anything to help inspire them to rebuild their self-esteem and their lives. All they know is how to survive.”

Aguilera is the face of the World Hunger Relief campaign across KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurants. She has been the global spokesperson for Yum! Brands’ World Hunger Relief since 2009. Posters featuring Aguilera will be displayed in KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurants.

'Inspire people'

“My goal with Yum! Brands’ World Hunger Relief is to inspire as many people as possible to donate to the cause and move millions of children from hunger to hope,” Aguilera said. “It’s important for people to know that for just 25 cents a day, we can feed a child in school and be part of the solution.”

Yum!’s initiative is the largest hunger relief effort in the private sector, spanning more than 39,000 KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurants in more than 130 countries and territories. The campaign, which has raised nearly US$150 million for WFP and other hunger relief organizations since 2007, is helping to provide more than 600 million meals across the world.

“We are grateful for our long-standing partnership with Yum! Brands and their World Hunger Relief campaign,” said Ertharin Cousin, WFP Executive Director. “The campaign has provided millions of meals for the hungry poor demonstrating how, when we all take action together, even the smallest individual donation can help change a life.”

Make a difference

In 2012, WFP-USA, the organization’s fundraising affiliate in the US, awarded Aguilera and Yum! Brands Chairman and CEO David Novak with the George McGovern Leadership Award for their hunger relief efforts. In addition to other efforts, nearly 1.5 million Yum! employees, franchisees and family members have volunteered in hunger relief efforts worldwide.

“We believe that it is our privilege and responsibility to do everything we can to make a difference in global hunger and save lives,” Novak said. “We are also grateful for the important work that the World Food Programme is doing every day to feed millions of hungry children and women in developing countries.”

The World Hunger Relief campaign began in the US at Pizza Hut on September 22. Taco Bell began on September 26, and KFC will start on September 30.

Consumers can donate at FromHungertoHope.com or at KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurants worldwide. Donations will go directly towards supporting WFP’s operations worldwide. In addition, Yum! plans to use its PSAs and other activities to generate awareness to the equivalent of US$50 million.